So far, so good.
From a first glance, Terraria may seem like a 2D MineCraft clone. Don't be fooled, it isn't all that much like MineCraft. Sure, you destroy blocks and everything in the game is based on said blocks, but Terraria centers more around monsters than MineCraft ever did. Terraria has around thirty different monsters, according to the developers. They range in size from tiny little things like little blobs of goo and flying eyeballs to giant worms that attack you from below. Don't worry, there are indeed boss monsters.
Terraria is somewhat of a survival game in the same manner as MineCraft, so I'll also compare it to MineCraft once again here. You chop down trees and dig all day, build your house (or just add onto it) in the evening, barricade yourself in your house from the monsters at night, wake up in the morning and do it all again (you don't actually go to sleep or wake up; I just wanted to say that).
There isn't a very helpful tutorial yet, all they have in terms of that is a Guide who walks around near you and gives you random tips that make you think, "Gee, I wish someone would have told me that sooner!" You'll probably find yourself going to YouTube or the Terraria Wiki to find out how to do things like craft certain items and get to certain places, because almost nothing is explained within the game itself.
Another thing the game is centered around is items and NPCs. You can build houses for NPCs, which is one of the things that make Terraria so customizable. You want to get better items, or better materials to make better items, such as guns and swords, but you can't always make those said items sometimes, unless you travel deep down into the under-growths of the game or find a nice NPC vendor who will sell you some.
Graphics
For a 2D game, Terraria does still look pretty nice. I'm not just saying that because it's one of the few games that my laptop can still run without lag, I'm also saying it because Terraria actually does look pretty cool. Your whole worlds are made up of little cubes, but yet the worlds look so polished, and like every different randomly-generated world was specifically made by people.
Despite that, the graphics on this game are still a bit behind, even in terms of 2D, but it does still look quite nice. The frame-rate is consistent and the game doesn't really lag, but I'll still go so far as to say that it's probably because the developers have yet to take any risks with majorly improving the graphics. Again, the game is still way in its early stages of development, having being started in January of 2011, so I'd say so far so good.
Sound
Terraria has a pretty catchy theme-song, as well as some great in-game tracks. I actually find the music at night-time spooky while I'm being chased by zombies and flying eyeballs, and it really helps set the mood. The music in the day-time is very cherry and up-beat, and overall very pleasant to listen to. If the music in a 2D game can make your emotions stir like they do in Terraria – the developers have done a good job.
Story
Terraria is one of those games where you make your own story. The NPCs don't do much at all besides chat and sell you things, and the only kind of tutorial you get (as mentioned) is the Guide who you meet at the beginning of the game, who, when you talk to him, gives you tips on how to do certain things. I feel that it wouldn't be fair at all to score Terraria on its story, as it really doesn't have one (yet), but I wanted to just mention the tutorial again.
Multiplayer
I know this game is in the early stages of development still, but if I pay money for a game, I want the multiplayer to be practical – if not just straight-up easy to access for the first time. The main way to start a server on Terraria is not just to go to the "Host & Play" option under Multiplayer (which would be the practical part), no, instead you have to actually Portforward your router port to match the game's ports, which can take a while if you don't have your Wireless Static IP. If you don't know what this means – don't worry about it, there are guides that explain in all in text, picture and video formats.
After you get past that, the multiplayer is actually a very fun and enjoyable experience for currently up to eight players per server. It's a lot more fun to go under-ground with friends, as well as just explore all that Terraria has to offer.
Longevity
Terraria is going to last you a long time. There is so much to do in one game world, it's unbelievable. Once you get bored of one world, just switch to another and it's a whole new set-up. The real joy comes from playing with your friends, if you ever manage to set up your own server, because then it's more cooperative and sucks you in for a longer period of time.
The Verdict
Pros:
• Unique
• Looks great in 2D
• Lots of monsters and items
• Never a dull moment
• Fun multiplayer (once you set it up)
Cons:
• No tutorial
• Hard-to-set-up multiplayer mode
Gameplay: 9.0
Graphics: 8.0
Sound: 9.0
Story: N/A
Multiplayer: 9.0
Longevity: 10
9.0/10